Voter Confusion

Despite Rumors, New Law Won’t Keep Registered Voters from Casting Votes

By Ben Torter

The recently re-enacted voter verification law, informally known as the “no match” law that requires voters to provide either a Social Security number or driver’s license with their applications, has prompted rampant rumors in cyberspace of a plot by conservatives to keep certain voters from the polls.

As with many rumors, however, the facts became quite skewed.

The legislation, re-enacted Sept. 8, affects only voters who registered since that date and will not keep registered voters from casting their votes — even if they haven’t provided the required information. Recent registrants who did not submit their Social Security number or driver’s license number will be required to cast provisional ballots if the information doesn’t match. A provisional ballot allows elections officials to record a vote and then double-check a questionable identity in the days after the polls close. As long as it’s determined that the voter is who he or she claims to be, and is registered, the vote is counted.

Though the number is currently growing, as of Tuesday afternoon there were 14,898 new registered voters in Miami-Dade County since Sept. 8, according to Christina White, assistant to the supervisor of elections for the Miami-Dade Elections Department. Of those, 1,118 people have or will receive letters informing them that some information was missing. The number should steadily grow, since people have until Oct. 6 to register to vote in the Nov. 4 presidential election.

“The people who fall into this so-called ‘no match, no vote law’ are the people who didn’t provide us with either the last four digits of their Social Security number or their driver’s license, and who registered after Sept. 8,” said White.

The official word from the Florida Department of State is that everyone who is registered to vote by the Oct. 6 registration deadline will be allowed to vote, and that the thousands of e-mails saying otherwise are false.

“We don’t know who is causing [the misinformation],” said Jennifer Davis, Communications Director for the Florida Department of State. “There have been statements by groups saying that thousands of people are going to be disenfranchised because of the law, which is not true. There have been e-mails with erroneous information passed around.”

An e-mail sent to the SunPost last week stated that “if your driver’s license address does not match the address on your voter’s registration card, you will not be permitted to vote.” A nearly identical statement was posted on the message board of the official Barack Obama Web site, and on the Miami Herald’s Naked Politics blog. It claimed that the law was a Republican plot to prevent “change,” echoing Obama’s campaign slogan, which has been mobilizing new voters — many of them students — in record numbers.

“The kids away in college [are] who this is targeted towards,” the message continued.

Grassroots organization the Obama Action Wire later sent out an e-mail blast of its own, denouncing the “dangerous rumor” circulating through cyberspace and printed by some news organizations.

“When you vote in Florida, the address on your identification can be different than your registration address,” stated the Action Wire e-mail. “Thousands of voters around Florida could be discouraged from voting or even denied their rights based on this misunderstanding. And nobody knows better than Floridians how big a difference even a few votes can make. We need to make sure this false rumor isn’t reported as truth and alert people to the facts.”

The voter verification law for newly registered voters first became effective in January 2006, until it was challenged and put on hold in December 2007. The decision was appealed and overturned, and the law was reinstated effective Sept. 8, 2008.

“This law does not keep any person with an unverified number from being able to vote,” stated Florida Secretary of State Kurt S. Browning. “This law is about verifying identity at the time of registration, so that when the voter goes to the polls the voter can vote a regular ballot, not a provisional ballot.”

Davis explained that poll workers are simply looking to match the photo and signature on the ID with the person standing in front of them.

“You don’t need to bring your driver’s license or voter ID,” Davis said, although you do need at least one form of identification.

There are nine forms of picture identification accepted at the polls. They are: a Florida driver’s license, a Florida identification card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, a United States passport, a debit or credit card that displays your photo, a military identification, a student identification, a retirement center identification, a neighborhood association identifications, or a public assistance identification.

Voters who receive letters stating their application was missing information have until the time they vote to clear up the address change by e-mailing, faxing or bringing a copy of their driver’s license or social security card to the Miami-Dade Elections office.

“If you did not rectify the situation and you show up at the polls, you are going to be given a provisional ballot, because you are not an active voter yet, since we couldn’t confirm your identity,” White said. “Then you will have two days to come to our office with a driver’s license or Social Security card.” If you don’t provide the information within two days of the close of polls, your vote will not count.

White stressed that the rule only affects people who registered after Sept. 8, and that everything can be easily cleared up before voting.

“If you’re not planning to vote until Nov. 4, if you give us that information by Nov. 3 then you’re fine,” to vote normally, White said.

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